<input type="button"> - HTML

`Button without a value`

If you don't specify a value, you get an empty button:

html

`Using buttons`

elements have no default behavior (their cousins, and are used to submit and reset forms, respectively). To make buttons do anything, you have to write JavaScript code to do the work.

`A basic button`

We'll begin by creating a basic button with a click event handler that starts our machine (well, it toggles the value of the button and the text content of the following paragraph):

html The machine is stopped. js const button = document.querySelector("input"); const paragraph = document.querySelector("p"); button.addEventListener("click", updateButton); function updateButton() { if (button.value === "Start machine") { button.value = "Stop machine"; paragraph.textContent = "The machine has started!"; } else { button.value = "Start machine"; paragraph.textContent = "The machine is stopped."; } } The script gets a reference to the HTMLInputElement object representing the in the DOM, saving this reference in the variable button. addEventListener() is then used to establish a function that will be run when click events occur on the button.

`Adding keyboard shortcuts to buttons`

Keyboard shortcuts, also known as access keys and keyboard equivalents, let the user trigger a button using a key or combination of keys on the keyboard. To add a keyboard shortcut to a button — just as you would with any for which it makes sense — you use the accesskey global attribute.

In this example, s is specified as the access key (you'll need to press s plus the particular modifier keys for your browser/OS combination; see accesskey for a useful list of those). html The machine is stopped. const button = document.querySelector("input"); const paragraph = document.querySelector("p"); button.addEventListener("click", updateButton); function updateButton() { if (button.value === "Start machine") { button.value = "Stop machine"; paragraph.textContent = "The machine has started!"; } else { button.value = "Start machine"; paragraph.textContent = "The machine is stopped."; } } Note: The problem with the above example of course is that the user will not know what the access key is! In a real site, you'd have to provide this information in a way that doesn't interfere with the site design (for example by providing an easily accessible link that points to information on what the site access keys are).

`Disabling and enabling a button`

To disable a button, specify the disabled global attribute on it, like so:

html Setting the disabled attribute You can enable and disable buttons at run time by setting disabled to true or false. In this example our button starts off enabled, but if you press it, it is disabled using button.disabled = true. A setTimeout() function is then used to reset the button back to its enabled state after two seconds. html js const button = document.querySelector("input"); button.addEventListener("click", disableButton); function disableButton() { button.disabled = true; button.value = "Disabled"; setTimeout(() => { button.disabled = false; button.value = "Enabled"; }, 2000); } Inheriting the disabled state If the disabled attribute isn't specified, the button inherits its disabled state from its parent element. This makes it possible to enable and disable groups of elements all at once by enclosing them in a container such as a element, and then setting disabled on the container. The example below shows this in action. This is very similar to the previous example, except that the disabled attribute is set on the when the first button is pressed — this causes all three buttons to be disabled until the two second timeout has passed. html Button group js const button = document.querySelector("input"); const fieldset = document.querySelector("fieldset"); button.addEventListener("click", disableButton); function disableButton() { fieldset.disabled = true; setTimeout(() => { fieldset.disabled = false; }, 2000); } Note: Unlike other browsers, Firefox persists the disabled state of an element even after the page is reloaded. As a workaround, set the element's autocomplete attribute to off. (See Firefox bug 654072 for more details.)

`Validation`

Buttons don't participate in constraint validation; they have no real value to be constrained.

`Examples`

The below example shows a very basic drawing app created using a element and some CSS and JavaScript (we'll hide the CSS for brevity). The top two controls allow you to choose the color and size of the drawing pen. The button, when clicked, invokes a function that clears the canvas.

html 30 body { background: #ccc; margin: 0; overflow: hidden; } .toolbar { background: #ccc; width: 150px; height: 75px; padding: 5px; } input[type="color"], input[type="button"] { width: 90%; margin: 0 auto; display: block; } input[type="range"] { width: 70%; } span { position: relative; bottom: 5px; } js const canvas = document.querySelector(".myCanvas"); const width = (canvas.width = window.innerWidth); const height = (canvas.height = window.innerHeight - 85); const ctx = canvas.getContext("2d"); ctx.fillStyle = "rgb(0 0 0)"; ctx.fillRect(0, 0, width, height); const colorPicker = document.querySelector('input[type="color"]'); const sizePicker = document.querySelector('input[type="range"]'); const output = document.querySelector(".output"); const clearBtn = document.querySelector('input[type="button"]'); // covert degrees to radians function degToRad(degrees) { return (degrees * Math.PI) / 180; } // update size picker output value sizePicker.oninput = () => { output.textContent = sizePicker.value; }; // store mouse pointer coordinates, and whether the button is pressed let curX; let curY; let pressed = false; // update mouse pointer coordinates document.onmousemove = (e) => { curX = e.pageX; curY = e.pageY; }; canvas.onmousedown = () => { pressed = true; }; canvas.onmouseup = () => { pressed = false; }; clearBtn.onclick = () => { ctx.fillStyle = "rgb(0 0 0)"; ctx.fillRect(0, 0, width, height); }; function draw() { if (pressed) { ctx.fillStyle = colorPicker.value; ctx.beginPath(); ctx.arc( curX, curY - 85, sizePicker.value, degToRad(0), degToRad(360), false, ); ctx.fill(); } requestAnimationFrame(draw); } draw();

`Technical summary`

Value	A string used as the button's label
Events	`click`
Supported common attributes	`type` and `value`
IDL attributes	`value`
DOM interface	`HTMLInputElement`
Methods	None
Implicit ARIA Role	`button`

`Specifications`

Specification
HTML # button-state-(type=button)

`Browser compatibility`

See also and the HTMLInputElement interface which implements it. The more modern Help improve MDN Was this page helpful to you? Learn how to contribute.This page was last modified on Apr 10, 2025 by MDN contributors. View this page on GitHub • Report a problem with this content